An editor has nominated this article for deletion. You are welcome to participate in the deletion discussion, which will decide whether or not to retain it. |
Rusty Lake is a game studio located in Amsterdam that is made up of Maarten Looise and Robin Ras. The developer is known for their Cube Escape series and other games set in the shared Rusty Lake universe. They have cited Twin Peaks and adventure games as influences on their work.[1]
History
editPrior to founding Rusty Lake in 2015, Looise worked on flash games and Ras ran several gaming portals. The two met online while Ras was searching for developers for one of his websites. The two would go on to release several flash games based on current events. Looise has stated that while the games had some moderate success, the games were quickly forgotten and that they wanted to create games that would have a more lasting impact. The studio's name was influenced by David Lynch's Twin Peaks, as Looise and Ras wanted to have both a "mysterious name", as well as a setting where "anything could happen" in their games.[2] The pair have also cited adventure games such as Myst and Monkey Island as influences.[1]
The studio released their first game, Cube Escape: The Lake, in 2015. They chose to release it as a free game due to practical reasons, as they were worried that it would be overshadowed by other paid games and that they did not yet have enough of a fanbase to ensure its success. The game was received favorably and they released three more games in the Cube Escape series in 2015.[2] This prompted the studio to release their first paid game, Rusty Lake Hotel, that same year.[3] This game marked the first of three titles bearing the name Rusty Lake.[4] Rusty Lake would go on to release a total of 11 games in the Cube Escape series, all of which were released as free, along with several other games, all of which take place in the Rusty Lake universe.[1]
Rusty Lake has also produced a short film, The Intern, which they released in conjunction with the 2025 release of The Mr. Rabbit Magic Show.[5] That same year they also announced the development of Servant of the Lake, a single-player point-and-click adventure.[6]
Games
editCube Escape
edit| Release Year | Title |
|---|---|
| 2015 | Cube Escape: Seasons |
| 2015 | Cube Escape: The Lake |
| 2015 | Cube Escape: Arles |
| 2015 | Cube Escape: Harvey's Box |
| 2015 | Cube Escape: Case 23 |
| 2015 | Cube Escape: The Mill |
| 2016 | Cube Escape: Birthday |
| 2016 | Cube Escape: Theatre |
| 2017 | Cube Escape: The Cave |
| 2018 | Cube Escape: Paradox |
| 2020 | Cube Escape Collection (a re-release of the first 9 games) |
| 2025 | The Mr. Rabbit Magic Show |
Paid games
edit| Release Year | Title |
|---|---|
| 2015 | Rusty Lake Hotel |
| 2016 | Rusty Lake Roots[7] |
| 2018 | Rusty Lake Paradise[8][9] |
| 2020 | The White Door[10] |
| 2020 | Samsara Room |
| 2022 | The Past Within[11] |
| 2023 | Underground Blossom Lite |
| 2023 | Underground Blossom |
| 2026 | Servant Of The Lake |
References
edit- ^ a b c Walker, John (2018-01-19). "Rusty Lake talk Rusty Lake, Twin Peaks, and making money from properly free games". Rock, Paper, Shotgun. Retrieved 2025-08-28.
- ^ a b Wales, Matt (2022-11-03). "The story of Rusty Lake - the best kept secret in puzzle games". Eurogamer.net. Retrieved 2025-08-28.
- ^ "Rusty Lake Hotel". Metacritic. Archived from the original on 2023-12-08. Retrieved 2024-02-25.
- ^ Chalk, Andy (2016-10-18). "The surreal, spooky adventure Rusty Lake: Roots comes out this week". PC Gamer. Retrieved 2025-08-28.
- ^ Chalk, Andy (2025-04-30). "Rusty Lake celebrates 10 years of strangeness with a free game, a new game announcement, a short film, and a big sale". PC Gamer. Retrieved 2025-08-28.
- ^ Wales, Matt (2025-08-21). "Rusty Lake is back with another deliciously macabre adventure, and if you've slept on the overlooked series you're missing out". Eurogamer.net. Retrieved 2025-08-28.
- ^ Walker, John. "Wot I Think: Rusty Lake: Roots". Rock Paper Shotgun. Retrieved 28 August 2025.
- ^ Walker, John. "Wot I Think: The bloody creepy Rusty Lake Paradise". Rock Paper Shotgun. Retrieved 28 August 2025.
- ^ Dingman, Hayden. "Rusty Lake Paradise review: Bizarre and brilliant". PC World. Retrieved 28 August 2025.
- ^ Duong, Dax. "Entering 'The White Door,' the latest from Rusty Lake developers". The Stanford Daily. Retrieved 28 August 2025.
- ^ Loveridge, Sam. "The Rusty Lake team's first co-op game has immediately jumped into my GOTYs". GamesRadar+. Retrieved 28 August 2025.